TAICHUNG, Taiwan – As third largest brand behind Trek and Specialized, Giant is stepping up its presence on the North American market to grow its market share. “In the first half of this year our IBD sales in the US are up 13.8 percent compared with the same period last year,” said Giant Bicycle CEO Tony Lo yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg.

Today some 125 IBD shops in the US offer Giant bikes as at least half of their inventory and the Taiwanese manufacturer wants to grow this number to 155 by the end of 2016. Another 1,000 stores carry Giant bikes in lesser proportions and with other models.

Tony Lo points out that the market provides ample space to grow. “If bike manufacturers can simply convince more people to buy bicycles, all companies can expand,” he said. “Only 18 percent of the world’s population rides a bicycle and it is also our job to grow this number.”

According to Giant its sales in Europe, “are up almost 7 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year.”

Only in China, Giant’s biggest market, sales declined by 8.5 percent due to the slowing economy. In 2014 Giant generated a sales increase of 10.4 percent to a total turnover of TWD 60 billion (USD 2 bn) helped by the fact that the company is also an OEM manufacturer for many of its competitors like Trek, Scott, Cannondale Colnago, Pinarello and Cervélo.

Last Thursday, December 3, key Astana domestique Alessandro Vanotti crashed while training with teammates in Calpe, Spain. They went through a patch of road that was being repaired. Team leader Fabio Aru hit a rubber cone which got caught in Vanotti's wheel, bringing Vanotti down.

Vanotti broke his tibial plateau (the top of the shin bone) and returned to Bergamo, Italy, where the diagnosis was made. It was thought surgery to repair the injury was likely.

Alessandro Vanotti leading the Astana team on a climb earlier this year

But, it turns out that won't be necessary. Team doctor Andrea Andreazzoli explained that, "Fortunately, there are no injuries to the ligaments...and is likely to spend a period of two months without a bike. Then he'll resume pedaling and we can, at the present, assume he can return to the team."

The UCI sent a letter to teams and suppliers on Thursday, clarifying its stance on how much a saddle may be tilted and how thin a water bottle may be.

The short story is that a rider may tilt his saddle as much as 2.5 degrees from level, but any more than that will require rectifying. Allowing for error, a saddle may actually tilt three degrees. The letter explains the mechanics and standards of the measurement.

Since the measurement entails using the front and back of the saddle, Velo News notes that the classic Selle San Marco Concor would actually need to be tilted up from its designed tilt, rendering the saddle quite uncomfortable.

And as for aerodynamic water bottles, they must conform to the 3 to 1 height to width ratio. In addition, the bottle must be mounted inside the frame's front triangle rather than behind the seat or on the bars.